


Fine

by BetaRayBob



Category: Free!
Genre: Character Death, Gen, M/M, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-07 17:43:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1907994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaRayBob/pseuds/BetaRayBob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Astronaut Nagisa has his first space flight in the morning, it's up to rocket scientist boyfriend Rei to calm his nerves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fine

“Is everything properly calibrated?”

“Yes, sir. I triple checked everything this morning, we just need to make some very minor adjustments, but those aren’t completely necessary. I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“Good idea. I’ll leave it to you then.”

Rei nods as his supervisor and the lead scientist on the project exits the room. He swivels around in his chair and faces the monitor, numbers and letters flashing on the screen as calculations are run, making sure that everything is at 100% efficiency. His leg bounces as his eyes scan the screen, making sure there are no discrepancies.

Once he’s satisfied with the results, he stands up and grabs his coat before heading out the door. The door opens before he even presses the button and Rei is knocked backward onto the floor as someone enters just as he was exiting. His head smacks against the tile and he cries out. Above him, he hears stifled snickering.

“Sorry about that, Rei. I didn’t know you were there. Here, let me help you up.”

Rei reaches out and grabs the hand in front of him, opening his eyes as he stands and gazing into a familiar face. Grinning, Nagisa leans forward and plants a kiss on Rei’s cheek, before Rei fixes his glasses and rubs his sore tailbone. “It’s okay. What are you even doing here, Nagisa? Shouldn’t you be prepping for tomorrow morning?”

“Mmm, I guess. But I wanted to see if you wanted to blow off the rest of the day…” Nagisa pouted and nuzzled his head against Rei’s arm. He may have changed a lot since high school, but old habits died hard. Nagisa had grown since they graduated Iwatobi, and he had shaved the sides of his head, giving himself a semi-mohawk, the middle still slightly shaggy. Rei hadn’t been a fan of the change at first, but he had grown to accept it. He missed being able to run his fingers through his boyfriend’s hair as they cuddled, but the head nuzzles still felt the same and had the desired effect.

“I still have something to check on, but then we can leave. Come with me, you should see what goes on.” Rei grabbed Nagisa by the hand and led him down the hall and into an open room near the rocket dock. Tools were strewn around the immediate areas, workers were barking orders, drills and other tools were echoing around the room. Nagisa stood by the guardrail in awe as he looked across the rocket, his mouth agape.

“Wow, I’m…I’m gonna be in that soon, huh?” Rei could hear the nerves in Nagisa’s voice and it put him off guard. He had never heard this tone come from his boyfriend before. He knew that there was nothing to worry about, he had worked on this project himself. After graduating, he had attended university, studying mechanical engineering and literal rocket science. Rei had been fascinated with space since he was young and he was surprised to learn that Nagisa had an interest as well.

_“Well if you’re going to become a rocket scientist, I’m going to become an astronaut!”_ Nagisa had proudly proclaimed when Rei had told him his intentions. _“I’m gonna follow you anywhere, Rei. Even to the edge of space.”_

Rei squeezed Nagisa’s hand to calm him down. “Your takeoff is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Everything is prepared, you’re going to be fine. I triple checked everything myself. It’s going to be beautiful.” Rei smiled as he looked at the rocket, his baby for the past year. He had been tapped to transfer to NASA during his senior year of university and Nagisa of course came with him. They had told Rei that he was one of the brightest young minds they’d seen and they had intentions of putting him on this project. They had put him and Nagisa up in a comfortable apartment near the facility and they hadn’t complained.

“Rei, let’s go home. I’m huuuungry”, Nagisa whined and Rei sucked his teeth.

“Fine, come on. I wanted to check something, but it’s fine. I’m sure Michael will handle it.”

“Ooh, whose Michael? Is he the cute one with the strong jaw? Do I have any reason to be suspicious?” Nagisa joked. Rei chuckled and kissed the top of his head.

“No, not with Michael. Christopher, on the other hand…Ow”, he was cut off as he felt Nagisa hit his arm. The two of them got into their car with no event, Rei was the only one of them with a license. The sun was beginning to set. They had been working for longer than he thought. “I hope everything is fine. We’re cutting it close.”

“You said it yourself, everything is good. You’re so efficient, I trust you.”

Rei drove the rest of the way in silence, mentally going over checklists and coming up empty. He was certain that it was all going to go smoothly.

*

The light coming off the TV glowed through the room, quiet and dark. The only sound was soft snoring and Nagisa turning over. They had fallen asleep during some old reruns of classic cartoons. A mouse was gripped in the hand of a dastardly cat, inching closer to certain demise until he pulled a comically large bomb out of thin air and blew the cat away.

The peace was broken when Nagisa sat up in the bed, screaming loudly. Rei immediately jumped out of the bed and looked around the room, his eyes wide and searching for whatever danger was lurking. Nagisa’s screams were replaced by heavy breathing as he reached out to Rei, who immediately grabbed his hand and slid back into the bed.

“Are you okay?! What happened?” Rei grabbed the sides of Nagisa’s face and kissed his forehead. Nagisa wrapped his arms around Rei’s torso and buried his face in his neck. His breathing was slowly steadying, but Rei heard muffled sobbing. “Nagisa? What’re wrong?” The blond shook his head, but Rei didn’t move. He simply put his arms around Nagisa and held onto him as the sobs began to fade.

Neither of them spoke, Rei wanted to, but kept silent. He was scared, he had never seen Nagisa like this before, don’t think he had ever even seen him cry until this moment. He did nothing but hug his boyfriend until Nagisa’s head left his shoulder.

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you…” Nagisa rubbed his eyes with the hell of his hand and sniffed. Rei shook his head and let go of him, leaning back against the wall behind him.

“You didn’t, I’m fine. You just startled me.” _Liar_ , he thought. He was still a bit shaken up. “Are you okay? Do you want to talk?” Nagisa bit his bottom lip and gave a small nod.

“I’m just…well, I’m scared about tomorrow. Today, I guess”, he glanced over at the clock on Rei’s end table. It was 2 AM, he had to be at the site in a few hours. “I’ve never actually, you know, gone up. They train you for this stuff but I’ve never DONE it, you know? What if I screw up? What if I hit the wrong button? What if the rocket doesn’t actually start? What if it’s all a big joke? WHAT IF WE GET EATEN BY ALIENS?!” Nagisa had begun to pace at this point and Rei chuckled.

“I told you already, everything is going to be 100% fine. The rocket is going to be fine. It’s going to be beautiful” he went to fix his glasses, but realized he wasn’t wearing them. “Calm down, babe. Trust me on this one. Would I ever let anything happen to you?” Nagisa stopped in place and pondered.

“No, I guess you wouldn’t. I just…I’m scared, you know? I’ve never been this nervous. This is way bigger than swimming in tournaments or even entrance exams! Auuugh!”, Nagisa fell back into the bed and sighed heavily. Rei leaned over him and kissed his nose.

“Since we’re up we might as well start getting ready. Take off is in a few hours and we need to get you cleaned up.” Nagisa groaned as Rei got out of bed and picked him up, padding over to the bathroom. Rei opened the tap and let the shower warm up before stripping off his briefs and getting in. “Come on”, he reached out and Nagisa joined him, tugging his boxers off and tossing his shirt onto the floor. Rei stood behind Nagisa and wrapped his arms around him, kissing the back of his neck. “Don’t be so nervous. I promise you’ll be okay, I would never let anything bad happen to you.”

*

The control room was alive with excitement and nerves. People were running between computers to make sure everything was going to plan. Rei stood by the large window, looking out at the rocket. He had left Nagisa about an hour ago, his boyfriend still a bundle of nerves. After reassuring him for the thousandth time that morning, they kissed and parted ways. The trip to space would only be a month, he’d be fine.

“Hey, Ryugazaki! Come over here!”

He turned around and hurried to where his supervisor had called him over.

“Look at this, does this look right?”

Rei pursed his lips and tapped a couple keys. “Yes, this looks fine to me. That’s a little low, but the other factors should compensate for everything. It’ll be a bit bumpy, but nothing more than that. They’ll make a safe exit out of atmosphere and safe return to earth.”

“Alright, good work. Prepare yourself for the big show, kid. We’re almost ready”, the heavyset man guffawed and clapped Rei on the back, who laughed nervously. He looked out the window at the rocket again. He found an empty workstation and sat down in the chair, turning on the livefeed to the cockpit. He felt at ease when he saw Nagisa’s face, determined and not showing any sign of nervousness. He wished he could speak to him one last time, but that was reserved for another group of workers. He put his hand against the screen and Nagisa looked toward the camera, almost as if he knew Rei was looking at him.

The screen suddenly changed to a silent countdown, counting back from 100. Rei swallowed, a lump in his throat and stood up to stand beside the window again. He grit his teeth as his mental countdown reached 15. Sure enough, a voice came over the speakers, counting down from 10. Smoke began to billow under the rocket as it prepped for blast-off.

“10”

Systems blinked to life as the rocket sat in preparation.

“9”

People were standing up now.

“8”

A low rumble was beginning to manifest.

“7”

More smoke.

“6”

Rei, a man of science, turned to a higher power.

“5”

Rei prayed for safe journey and safe return.

“4”

For his boyfriend and the other crew to not be eaten by aliens.

“3”

He looked up and clenched his jaw.

“2”

Flames as the rocket began to lift.

“1”

The docking arm was released.

“Blast off!”

The rocket rose into the air, propelled smoothly. It gained speed as it entered the atmosphere. The control room burst into applause and cheers as the rocket seemed to be safe. Rei let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Everything really was fine.

Rei looked up at the sky, following the rocket’s trail and watches as it suddenly disappeared. Where the rocket had been before was now a large ball of flames. Rei was frozen, he had to be dreaming. The whoops and cheers around him turned into screams of terror and cursing. Rei watched in horror as flaming chunks of metal fell to the earth, landing in the sea. “N-no…”

This couldn’t be happening. Not right now. This was a dream. He tried to look away, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off the scene. His body moved on its own, he felt something warm running down his hands, heard a bloodcurdling scream that he realized was coming from his own mouth. He finally looked down and saw blood covering his hands and a large red spot against the glass. Had he done that? He must have been pounding it, trying to break it. He knew it was useless but he continued. His screams didn’t subside.

He felt someone pull him back from the window and watched as the sky moved further and further away. He reached out as if he could grab the space where the rocket had been and bring it back, to save who was on board. It was his fault. He had done something. Forgotten to check something. He did this. His throat was raw, his mouth was dry, his face drenched from tears and sweat. He looked up at the ceiling, he was on the floor. He didn’t know how this could have happened. He tried to scream again, but it came out hoarse, he tasted blood.

Nagisa was gone. Nagisa was never coming back. Nagisa was his everything. Nothing would be fine again.

**Author's Note:**

> I should just come right out and say it. I know literally nothing about rockets or how they work.


End file.
